1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a variable capacity ice storage assembly for a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic ice making systems for use in domestic refrigerators are well known. A typical ice making system includes an ice maker mounted within the freezer compartment of the refrigerator and an ice storage receptacle or bin supported beneath the ice maker for receiving the formed ice from the ice maker. The ice maker is commonly mounted within the freezer compartment adjacent the side or rear wall of the freezer compartment such that water and power can be readily supplied to the ice maker. The ice storage receptacle is supported by a shelf or other structure arranged beneath the ice maker within the freezer compartment. The ice storage receptacle generally extends across a significant portion of the freezer compartment and has a front end adjacent the freezer door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,979 to Linstromberg et al. is an example of such a prior art ice making system. Alternatively, it is also known to provide a removable ice storage bucket on the door of a freezer compartment, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,259 to Nelson et al.
Conventional ice making systems are designed to produce and maintain a relatively fixed quantity of ice pieces. This leads to the potential problem of ice staleness for consumers who have relatively low ice consumption needs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,978 to Cole discloses a common means used to limit the quantity of ice formed by the ice maker. In Cole, an ice quantity sensor, comprising a sensing arm, is periodically lowered into the ice storage receptacle for sensing the amount of ice supplied into the storage receptacle.
To avoid the problem of ice staleness, it is desirable to limit the amount of ice available based on individual consumers ice consumption. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,436,928 and 6,148,624 illustrate past efforts to provide flexibility in the amount of ice stored in an ice bin. More specifically, the '928 patent discloses a vertically telescoping ice receptacle, while the '624 patent discloses a system wherein an ice bucket can be vertically adjusted relative to an ice maker. In addition to other problems, these systems require specialize structure and cannot be utilized with standard pre-existing ice dispensing systems.
The present invention addresses the need for a variable capacity storage assembly that can be readily employed without necessitating alterations to pre-existing ice making systems.